Sustainable Building Consulting

David Hertz FAIA Architects, Inc., and S.E.A., the Studio of Environmental Architecture, builds on 25 years as an acknowledged leader in the practice of sustainable architecture. Recently commended as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, David is an award-winning architect, educator and early pioneer in environmental Architecture and green building. Our Company’s origins are rooted in a firm belief in environmental responsibility. In 1983, David developed Syndecrete®, one of the first sustainable building materials, which was used in the first LEED Platinum commercial building and the first LEED Platinum residential building in the U.S. David is a founding member of the USGBC U.S. Green Building Council and a LEED accredited professional. David’s work has been widely published and exhibited worldwide for its innovative and forward thinking approach to sustainable architecture and design.

S.E.A.’s role as consultant builds upon experience and success with it’s own green building projects and offers solutions to improve the environmental performance through cost effective and aesthetically pleasing solutions that balance the built environment with the natural environment. We accomplish this by providing our clients with realistic programs, innovative thinking and strategies presented as holistic, integrated systems. Sustainable buildings are equated with healthy buildings, resulting in greater occupant satisfaction, reduced employee absenteeism, greater resale value and increasingly lucrative lease contracts. A key to project success is to ensure that all parties understand life cycle costs as well as first costs. In a departure from many traditional economic models, sustainable design/building sees the greatest return on investment over the lifetime of the building or project.

David Hertz was appointed to the City of Santa Monica’s Task Force on the Environment and consulted on the Cities green building ordinances. David has been teaching at UCLA for the last 15 years on Ecology and Architecture.

S.E.A. encourages the adaptive reuse of existing buildings and materials, is a proponent of green field preservation, and actively participates in product and system research and development, as can be experienced in our own LEED Platinum certified office building. We excel at providing innovative solutions to design and building issues that elevate the whole of a project, from a preserved natural environment with less developmental impact, to providing a healthier, more natural built environment.

Whether the goal is as simple as optimizing the healthy and energy efficient aspects of your project, or reaching to achieve certification under a Green Rating Program such as the US Green Building Council’s LEED program, or California’s Build-It-Green, S.E.A. is ready and qualified to guide your project’s sustainable development.

Clients

Below is a brief documentary that explores David Hertz FAIA's current work to fight the water crisis, by using machines that draw fresh drinking water from moisture in the air to help the local community in Venice, California.

The newly published ORO Monograph on the residential work by David Hertz is now available on Amazon. Click below to learn more.

The Works of David Hertz FAIA and the Studio of Environmental Architecture. S.E.A is based in Venice Beach, Ca. The practice primarily focuses on sustainably built, environmentally sensitive, contemporary green buildings. We handle residential and commercial designs in Los Angeles and worldwide.